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Editor Ken Harwood Click Here to Subscribe To Weekly Email
It's About Shoes
A Different
Beltline
Green By Design
Policy vs.
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Outside the Box
November
Got News? The Final Word
The Final Word -- This is the all
new economic development news for Greater Madison and beyond!
I continue to develop this newsletter
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positive feedback I have received in the past. As always let me know what you think.
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Milwaukee Road Trip This Wednesday June 18th Ken Notes: New sponsors have added a second departure site (Middleton 8 am), free coffee and pastry, and a guarantee that we can go even if we do not have 40 people. Thanks to FoodFight and T. Wall Properties. See Details Above... 14-story, Mixed-use Development Proposed Friday, June 6, 2008 - The Apex Group, one of Madison's largest purveyors of rental property, is trying to build support for an approximately 14-story Downtown development being pitched as an environmentally friendly alternative to suburban sprawl and a boon to the city's tax base. Preliminary plans for the mixed-use project show a 300-room hotel with residential and office space on eight lots on the southeast corner of South Henry and West Wilson streets, across from the Dane County Courthouse. The site currently contains seven buildings - mostly small apartment buildings - and one parking lot. Apex owns five of the properties; the other three properties are a single-family rental home, transitional housing units and a boarding house. Bruce Bosben, chairman of Apex Group, envisions it as a "facility where people could live, work, eat and lodge...
Ken
Notes: 300 rooms, spitting distance from the Monona Convention Center, I'm glad
somebody gets it. I'm guessing we will here a lot about height, parking, and
historic impact...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Verona Developer Brian Cason Had Claimed Wisconsin Community Bank Had Cost Him Millions Of Dollars. A Verona developer who alleged that a local bank ruined his businesses with false promises of a multimillion-dollar loan will not get his day in court, a Dane County judge ruled last week. Brian Cason, president of Alta Construction Co., had alleged that Wisconsin Community Bank caused millions of dollars in losses when one of its officials promised - then withdrew the promise - to loan the company money for an Arlington manufacturing plant. Friday's decision by Dane County Circuit Judge Michael Nowakowski came one day after Alta's attorneys filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for the company, citing their inability to work with Cason. The trial, which was to have begun Monday, was pushed back to June 25 and will now focus only on the bank's claim that Cason and his companies defaulted on $6 million in loans. Nowakowski threw out Cason's counterclaim after he ruled that the developer violated discovery rules by failing to provide financial information on how much money his companies allegedly lost when Scott Huonker, a Wisconsin Community Bank vice president, promised then withdrew the promise to lend money for the concrete plant north of Madison. In an affidavit, attorney Daniel Bach said he and attorney Kent Carnell could no longer represent Cason... CG Schmidt To Head Union South Project Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - CG Schmidt has been named the construction manager of a project to replace Union South, 227 N. Randall Ave., on the UW-Madison campus. The $82 million project, which will be managed out of the company's Madison office...
Wisconsin Dells Polynesian Water Park Resort unveils its expansion plan WED., JUN 11, 2008 - The resort credited with starting the indoor waterpark boom is getting bigger and the announcement comes at a time when the Wisconsin Dells could use a bit of good news. Officials with the Polynesian Water Park Resort announced Wednesday plans for a $20 million expansion and renovation. The project, scheduled to begin after Labor Day, will include a 10,000...
Blue Ribbon Lofts receives equity financing Published June 11, 2008 - Cleveland, Ohio-based National City Bank announced this week that its National City Community Development Corp. is providing $4.8 million in equity financing for the Blue Ribbon Lofts Apartments project, which is being developed by Madison-based Gorman & Company Inc. at the former Pabst brewery site in downtown Milwaukee. The project is also receiving about $4.8 million in equity financing from Lansing, Mich.-based Great Lakes Capital Fund. The $15.8 million project is also receiving federal low income housing tax credits, federal rehabilitations tax credits and state historic tax credits... Ken Notes: Congrats Gorman & Co. looks like a great project. This will be next years road trip! New Commercial Listings from PropertyDrive All Commercial Properties By Community (an interactive map) Small Property Transactions in Madison This searchable database includes property transfers under $300,000 that were recorded in Madison since June 2007. Search by month the transaction occurred, by street name or by price.
Commission gives final approval for Epic expansion In what amounted to an annual update as much as a request Monday, Epic chief administrative officer Steve Dickmann presented the company's plans for expansion into its second set of office buildings on the west side of the Verona. With 3,100 employees - including 140 who started Monday - Epic is about 10 times the size it was when it first began discussions with Verona in 2000, Dickmann told the Plan Commission, which voted 4-0 to approve the site plan. And with many employees sharing offices in Verona and more than 1,000 working in offices in other cities, the earlier plans needed some tweaking to accommodate everyone... Cleanup under way in Wisconsin, but more rain coming 6/11/2008 - MUKWONAGO, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle continued to tour flood-drenched areas Wednesday as residents and officials braced for more rain Thursday. Department of Natural Resources crews continued to check dams pressured by high water from weekend storms as damage estimates started to roll in... Cheaper fares, non-stop flights lure passengers away from Madison For UW-Madison engineering Professor John Scharer, a visit from his daughter who lives in New York usually means a drive east on Interstate 94 to Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. It's nothing against the Dane County Regional Airport. Scharer simply can't justify the additional cost of the plane tickets to Madison. "For her family of four to fly into Madison right now is an extra $500... Ken Notes: We can change this. I used Price Line to fly out of Madison to DC recently and the price was less that MKE or ORD - just took more digging. We need to meet with the carriers as a businesses community and play our cards. If the airlines know what we want and what we can pay they will provide... New Whole Foods market on course, say developers 6/11/2008 - Instead of a brand-spanking new Whole Foods Market, those passing by the Hilldale Shopping Center these days see a big hole in the ground. Demolition of the site is complete, including removal of the old Hilldale theater and vacant Humana office building at the corner of University Avenue and Segoe Road... County's percentage hike in foreclosures biggest in area 6/10/2008 - There's no end in sight to rising mortgage foreclosures in Wisconsin, with Dane County showing the largest percentage increase in the region over the past five months. New figures from ForeclosuresWI.com show Wisconsin added another 1,949 foreclosures in May, bringing year-to-date foreclosures to 10,644 -- a 38 percent increase over the same period in 2007... City stifles town development near its borders Two months after the failure of the city-town consolidation effort, the City of Verona is not taking any chances with its ability to plan. With a new countywide policy severely limiting future urban development, Madison eying thousands of new homes on the north side of the town and the city's comprehensive plan still in the early stages, the Common Council decided Monday night to prevent most development in the parts of the town where it has control. The amendment to the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction ordinance is an almost 180-degree turn in policy, with almost all "ETJ" decisions in the past having been rubber-stamped for the county's discretion. While not as restrictive as the ordinance Fitchburg ... Ken Notes: I am an alder in Verona and voted against this, believing that planning is better that policy. I agree that development should mirror the long range plans and goals for the city... my Op-ed (March) on the subject appears here... Local home building remains in doldrums 6/10/2008 - Home building in Dane County in May tumbled to a low for the month since 1999, when MTD Marketing began compiling records. Just 64 permits were issued for new homes and duplexes in Dane County in May, less than half of the 154 last May, and far below the range of 134 to 284 for the month going back to 1999. For the first five months of the year, there were 318 permits... Ken Notes: New businesses, new buyer segments, grow and retain the businesses here already. Remember the commercial where the CEO hands out plane tickets after loosing a client... we need to do the same thing i.e. Thank you Am Fam, Berbee, CDW, Dean, EPIC,... Platteville nanotech firm wins Governor's Business Plan Contest 6/10/2008 - Graphene Solutions, a nanotechnology company that features a 17-year-old student on its scientific team, is the grand prize winner in the 2008 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest, state officials announced. The company, led by UW-Platteville chemistry professor Jim Hamilton and CEO Philip Jackson, has patent-pending technology that could transform electronics, optics and materials science. Philip Streich, a student who takes classes at Platteville and online through Stanford University, is co-inventor of the firm's platform for dissolving carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets and other materials so they can be purified and spread in a layer one atom thick... Ken Notes: Other winners also in article... Homeowners Stunned By $42,600 Special Assessment Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - Donald and Louise Foster are still stunned by the $42,600 bill. Some Residents Of Towns Are Upset That Madison Is Billing Them For Street Improvements. The Fosters, both 81, are among 11 property owners sharing $210,000 in costs for city of Madison street improvements, including curb, gutter and lights along a stretch of fast-developing Sprecher Road on the Far East Side. "I'm mad," Donald Foster said. "It isn't fair." The special assessment is an extreme example of what can happen as cities and villages grow... Ag Secretary Pushes For Land Protection Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Wisconsin's agriculture secretary is renewing an effort to preserve the state's dwindling farmland. Secretary Rod Nilsestuen says the state leads the Midwest in the number of agriculture acres being lost, at 30,000 acres a year. Nilsestuen says the state's Farmland Preservation Program needs to be overhauled. He says the program was created in 1978 and has lost its effectiveness. Nilsestuen says a revised program could be a more powerful tool to help local governments protect farmland from development. The agricultural secretary also plans to push for creating agricultural enterprise areas... Massachusetts Firm To Acquire Madison's Third Wave Monday, June 9, 2008 - The $580 million acquisition of Third Wave Technologies by Hologic, Inc. is being called a "terrific marriage" of two firms involved in the research and development of women's health care diagnostic products. Madison-based Third Wave's patent applications for two human papilloma virus tests should complement the diagnostic and medical imaging systems of Bedford, Mass.-based Hologic, said James Leonhart of the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association. "I hope it's similar to the Roche NimbleGen situation where two biotech firms combined and retained a Madison presence," Leonhart said. Hologic, with its $1.7 billion in annual revenues, is in a strong position to help Third Wave expand on its promising technology... Ken Notes: It will be important to work to keep and expand the Third Wave facilities in the state... Kikkoman To Open Research Facility At UW Saturday, June 7, 2008 - Kikkoman Foods Inc. will establish a research and development laboratory as well as an environmental studies scholarship in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The new lab, which will open this fall, will be located at University Research Park in Madison. It will be led by one of the company's research scientists from its research and development facility in Noda, Japan. "This laboratory will become an important ...
Ken
Notes: Are we all aware that Kikkoman's Walworth Wisconsin Facility is one of
the largest and best productions facilities in the world...
Local Employers Still In Hiring Mood
Tuesday,
June 10, 2008 - Madison area employers are in a more optimistic hiring mood than
they were three months ago, Manpower Inc. reported Tuesday in its quarterly
hiring survey. For the third quarter, 23 percent of Madison area companies
surveyed said they expect to add workers, while 3 percent expect to cut staff,
71 percent plan to maintain payrolls and 3 percent are uncertain. That's a net
gain of 20 points. Heading into the second quarter, 23 percent expected to add
staff and 7 percent planned to cut jobs for a net gain of 16. Heading into the
third quarter of 2007, local companies were more optimistic with 40 percent
planning to add staff and 17 percent expecting cuts, for a net gain of 23...
State's Secret Badger State Trail Sunday, June 8, 2008 - One Of Wisconsin's Hidden Gems Is Right In Our Back Yard. The Badger State Trail may still be somewhat of a secret in southern Wisconsin, though it officially opened last summer. But its scenery, communities and planned expansion to Madison make it hard to imagine that it will remain a secret for much longer. The trail is a 32-mile route that starts on Purcell Road in the southwestern corner of Fitchburg and goes south to the Illinois state line. There it connects with that state's Jane Addams Trail, which travels further south. It follows an old railroad line, meaning it's straight in many places and essentially flat, rising or descending only gently. It's perfect for cycling or walking, and in the winter snowmobiling and, along one stretch, ATV... Need a Speaker Ken Harwood is available to speak to your group on a variety of Economic Development topics. He is a strong advocate for planned development in the Greater Madison Area. He may be reached at Editor@WisconsinDevelopmentNews.com Or (608) 334-2174. He also juggles...
June 06, 2008 - State's economy grows 1%. Manufacturing remains dominant industry in Wisconsin. Steady growth in Wisconsin's manufacturing sector helped the state's overall economy expand by 1% last year - better than some of its Midwestern neighbors but half the rate of the nation as a whole... Economic Development: A sense of urgency June 11, 2008 - Economic Development: A sense of urgency. A new report tells a familiar tale about the Milwaukee-area economy: too many under-educated people in the labor force, too few college graduates, too many people leaving the area, a history of cautious responses... Milwaukee Comfort Suites to open on July 1 Published June 11, 2008 - The new Comfort Suites hotel, under construction on Milwaukee's far northwest side at 10831 W. Park Place Drive, is scheduled to open on July 1, said Brian Wogernese, owner of Oshkosh-based WHG Companies LLC, which is developing the hotel, located in the Park Place area, northeast of U.S. Highway 41/45 and Good Hope Road. About 40 full- and part-time jobs are being created by the new hotel, Wogernese said. The hotel is located within walking distance of... June 12, 2008 - Mayor looks at role of WEDC. Development funds could be shifted to city. A move by Mayor Jill Didier to review the city’s funding of and involvement with the Wauwatosa Economic Development Corporation has business leaders and WEDC board members concerned... Planning manager lauded for his development efforts June 12, 2008 - Planning manager lauded for his development efforts. Award notes Schaer's aim for improvements. West Allis Planning and Zoning Manager Steve Schaer has been honored with the Public Policy Forum's Leader of the Future award... Commission rejects hotel, gas station concept plan June 12, 2008 - Commission rejects hotel, gas station concept plan. A conceptual review of a proposed development with a gas station/convenience store, retail building and four-story Comfort Suites hotel failed to gain the support of the Brown Deer Plan Commission on June 9... Zoning for Wal-Mart advances in Cudahy June 12, 2008 - Zoning for Wal-Mart advances in Cudahy. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. hopes to begin construction by spring 2009 on a Supercenter proposed for Cudahy following a Plan Commission vote that recommended zoning approval for the development... Commission OKs Ruby Farms proposal June 12, 2008 - Commission OKs Ruby Farms proposal. Zoning change needed for high density plan. Brookfield residents will have an opportunity next month to share their thoughts on a proposal for a large-scale development slated for the Ruby Farms-WTMJ land south of Bluemound Road and west of Calhoun Road... Summit commercial development inching closer June 12, 2008 - Summit commercial development inching closer; Senior care centers start construction next month. A mixed-use development in the Town of Summit had a few more of its pieces come together at last week's Plan Commission meeting, leaving the project weeks away from initial groundwork.. A mixed-use development in the Town of Summit had a few more of... Recall Efforts: Wal-Mart discontent June 12, 2008 - Recall Efforts: Wal-Mart discontent. It’s getting to be that “recall” might become Wal-Mart’s middle name. In Hartford two years ago, a citizens’ group started a recall effort largely over an issue related to Common Council approval of a Wal-Mart on the west side of the city. The group... Survey reveals interest in community center, dog park June 12, 2008 - Survey reveals interest in community center, dog park. Indoor pool favored over outdoor one; trails supported. A community center with an indoor pool, a connected park trail system and an off-leash dog park are a few of the amenities supported by Germantown residents in a recent survey conducted by the Park... Wal-Mart gets city's OK, but fight may continue June 12, 2008 - Wal-Mart gets city's OK, but fight may continue. Opposition group considers challenging city procedures. Though the city has approved a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter, attorneys for the citizens' group Muskego First are contemplating issues that could block construction... Bank to invest in loft project June 10, 2008 - Bank to invest in loft project. $4.8 million to finance work at old Pabst site. An apartment building under construction at the former Pabst brewery site is getting a $4.8 million investment from a Cleveland-based bank... Wal-Mart Wars: Cudahy mayor's miscue June 09, 2008 - Wal-Mart Wars: Cudahy mayor's miscue. Cudahy is in the midst of deciding whether a Wal-Mart supercenter will be allowed on a 26-acre Layton Ave. site, which now features the rusting skeleton of the infamous Iceport hockey rinks. Euphemisms like "big-box retail" are used, but it really comes...
Homes on parade are moving quickly WED., JUN 4, 2008 - A mortgage crisis and a downturn in the housing market appear to have cast little rain on this parade. When the 58th annual Madison Area Builders Association 's Parade of Homes opens Saturday, there will be more homes than last year and the majority will already have owners. While the 28 homes on the parade are still less than the 35 in 2006 and 31 in 2005, 17 are sold and three have contracts pending... Ken Notes: Don't miss the parade this year. Details HERE. Did I mention the VERONA site... When Brown Shoes, parent company of Famous Footwear, announced almost a year ago that they may relocate their headquarters, I did a little digging in the St. Louis media and discovered that what they really wanted was for Missouri to pony up to keep them in the state. I knew this from the first day and yet I used this publication and my news blog to encourage us as a community to contact the CEO (who has Madison roots) and others at Brown Shoes and invite, even entice, them to come to Madison. I did this for months, knowing we would lose the game, regardless of our efforts. Shame....
Ken Notes: Thanks again to Business Watch for allowing me an outlet. Please
let me know what you think. Speaking of this months Business Watch, the
article on Brian Vandewalle is fantastic, as is the story on Commercial real
estate financing. The entire June Issue is
HERE...
Smiles all around at Operation Fresh Start celebration 6/05/2008 - There was plenty to celebrate at an event at 1713 Northfield Place on Madison's east side Wednesday afternoon. A group of area youths had built a new home and, in the process, begun to turn their lives around. The members of the construction crew, many of whom have been surrounded by poverty and crime throughout adolescence, are participants in Operation Fresh Start (OFS), a Madison nonprofit dedicated to helping Madison's under-served youth... Ken Notes: This sounds like a great program and the next article floored me... School projects give Wisconsin students skills WED., JUN 4, 2008 - DARLINGTON — When a local businessman asked teacher Dick Anderson if his woods technology students could build a covered bridge, Anderson said "sure.'' He envisioned an ornamental garden structure. Instead, what the client wanted — and what the high school students built — is a 14-ton, 44-foot long timber-frame covered bridge that spans a ravine and can carry fully loaded trucks... Road Trip - Pabst Farms, The Historic Third Ward, and Bayshore JUNE 18th June 18th (Wednesday) at 8:30 AM back by 6 PM ($25 for the bus). Stops include Pabst Farms, The Historic Third Ward, and Bayshore Town Center where we will talk to the developers, planners and officials responsible for the projects. Please respond to RoadTrip@FutureWisconsin.com if you will be joining us, LIMIT 50. Also feel free to pass this along to others who may be interested. Link takes you to registration form. FutureWisconsin, PropertyDrive, Cirex would be happy to take a back seat to other sponsors call Ken @ 608.334.2174.
Ken notes: I still need a few more people to cover the cost of the bus -
with gas at four bucks, this is a deal - trust me...
Back To Plan Commission For Camp Randall Hotel Wednesday, June 04, 2008 - Bob Sieger will have to wait two more weeks to begin demolishing his building at 1501 Monroe St. after the Madison City Council voted Tuesday to send his permit back to the Plan Commission for further review. Sieger has been planning to alter the property, near Camp Randall, for more than three years but has run across numerous complaints from nearby neighborhood associations about the plans, which have included a mixed retail and housing unit as well as a five-story hotel. The building at the corner of Monroe and Regent streets is currently a multi-business structure. The newest proposed replacement, a four-story, 48-room hotel... Ken Notes: Bob Verona would love to have you. Call... New Commercial Listings from PropertyDrive (Note Link Fixed) All Commercial Properties By Community (an interactive map) Small Property Transactions in Madison This searchable database includes property transfers under $300,000 that were recorded in Madison since June 2007. Search by month the transaction occurred, by street name or by price...
Can low-wage Midwest sell itself as an IT destination? 6/04/2008 - When customers telephone Paragon Development Systems looking for help with a balky printer they aren't patched through to a call center in India, Eastern Europe or the Philippines. Instead, they get a friendly voice from Madison, Wisconsin usually with a Midwestern twang. While countless firms today send their information technology work overseas, Oconomowoc-based PDS made the decision four years ago to keep its service desk functions closer to home. The company purchased the vacant Gold's Gym... Ken Notes: The “New” Cap Times is finding some great stories... For the love of books and Other deveopment Notes 6/04/2008 - The most contentious vote in Fitchburg this November won't be Obama vs. McCain. It will likely center on a referendum over building a $14-million public library that could boost property taxes by $200 annually on the average home. With some 24,000 residents, Fitchburg is by far the largest city in Wisconsin without its own library. Heck, it doesn't even have a downtown. But a group of citizens has been working for several years to change that. They've identified a site off Lacy Road...Also Sequoya Commons, Coyle Highlands, Eastlawn and more... Read This! Ken Notes: I have been through the library challenge as a school board member, Mayor and city alder and just want to note that while the fight can be challenging, the results can change the entire city for the better. Good luck to all the communities in the hunt, I'm pulling for you... Janesville bracing for future without GM plant WED., JUN 4, 2008 - Experts say there's virtually no chance Janesville will hold onto any General Motors production past 2010 despite efforts promised by state and local officials to keep the plant running and retain some of its 2,390 employees. "Realistically, (the chances are) very, very, very small," said Brett Smith, senior industry analyst with the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. "GM simply has too many facilities in the system... Ken Notes: I have put up a www.FutureJanesville.com website to help promote new development in the area. If you would like to sponsor the site, I will donate ALL revenues back to the community. Site is up now and will be done early next week... New Honda dealership in works on far east side 6/03/2008 - Zimbrick Honda could soon be facing some stiff competition selling the popular and fuel efficient vehicles in the Madison area market. The Wilde Automotive Group of Waukesha is teaming with a former executive at Harley Davidson on a new Honda dealership planned for vacant land east of East Towne. If a zoning change can be secured, work could begin this summer on a $10-million, 45,000 square foot facility at the intersection of High Crossing Boulevard and Nelson Road. That's near the site of a proposed cinema complex from Marcus Theatres... ...Also Monday night the commission approved plans from embattled developer Cliff Fisher to redevelop the former St. Raphael's school at 31 S. Henry St. into a 58-unit, six-story apartment building. Two weeks ago the commission delayed action following complaints from the Madison Catholic Diocese, which shares a building wall with the former school. A long-standing agreement prohibits any changes to that wall. After further discussion, architect David Ferch altered the design to build a free standing wall and the church has since dropped it opposition. Downtown Ald. Mike Verveer called the project a creative approach to an older property... ...Approved creating a tax incremental financing (TIF) district for the Badger Road-Ann Street-Park Street area on the city's south side. The district provides for $11.5 million... ...Approved tearing down two former industrial buildings owned by the parent company of Oscar Mayer (Kraft Foods) at 1910 Roth St. and 1126 Huxley St. to be used as open space and possible future redevelopment... ...Approved a second version of the sprawling 1,000 Oaks subdivision from Veridian Homes on the far west side at Valley View and South Point roads. The new plan calls for 304 owner occupied... Ken Notes: All of the above appear in the same article. Thanks Mike - great stuff. The comments at the end are also humorous... UW Credit Union plans Northport branch WED., JUN 4, 2008 - UW Credit Union plans to open a branch on the site of the vacant Brennan's Market at 1422 Northport Drive. The market closed in January... New Splash Park Is Making Waves The flurry of activity at Lakeview Park is all about making a splash. But the rush to debut a splash park during the city's "Big Event" celebrations June 14 could mean more than just kids will be getting soaked by the project, critics said. Rapidly rising costs for materials and fuel have been a factor in why the price tag for the water spray playground is about $100,000 higher than initial estimates, city officials said. But Ald. Gurdip Brar said the arbitrary deadline could be why the city got just two bids for the project, potentially resulting in less competitive prices... Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - Residential Capital, the mortgage lending unit of GMAC, said Tuesday it needs more than three times more cash to stay in business than it estimated just weeks ago. ResCap estimates it now needs about $2 billion in cash by the end of June to meet liquidity demands, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It previously estimated it needed just $600 million by the end of the month. "The change in the number is not a positive development," said Christopher Whalen, managing director at the consulting firm Institutional Risk Analytics. "ResCap may have to restructure... Mayor Wants To Double Solar Energy Use Tuesday, June 03, 2008 - Overcast skies did not deter the Mayor Dave Cieslewicz from unveiling a new initiative that seeks to double Madison's use of solar energy by 2010 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The program, called MadiSUN, is designed to increase the development and use of solar technology for both business and residential properties in the city. MadiSUN intends to accelerate the adoption of solar energies by providing technical assistance and financial advice to those wishing to install solar energy equipment into their businesses and homes... Findorff's Downtown Location Has Spectacular Lake View
Sunday, June 1, 2008 - The decision to keep the headquarters for builder J.
H. Findorff and Son in Downtown Madison was not a difficult one. Findorff's
CEO, Curt Hastings, knew for certain it was the right decision when he
stepped onto the third floor of the new building. Through the three-story
bank of windows he saw the panorama of Lake Monona, a view blocked by
fencing since the company's founding on the site in the 1890s. The breadth
and beauty of the view drove home the point: Downtown Madison was central to
the company's identity. The 38,000-square-foot building on North Shore Drive
is now familiar to those who go past...
Madhatters Finds A New Home On Gorham Street After two years in the lurch, Madhatters finally has a new home. The popular campus bar at 3 University Square closed in June 2006 with the redevelopment of University Square mall. Ted Gervasi, who has owned the establishment for 20 years, plans to reopen it at 328 W. Gorham St., before UW-Madison students come back in the fall. The license was approved last month by the Alcohol License Review Committee and was adopted without discussion by the City Council Tuesday night. "I am pleased for Gervasi and his former staff that they can return, that they can come out of retirement... Homeless House Site Not Welcome
Porchlight Inc. has identified a site on Madison's East Side as a possible
location for proposed housing and other assistance for people who are
homeless. But Ald. Larry Palm, who represents the 15th District where the
site is located, says the project belongs on South Park Street where the
federal government is giving the city land to be used for homeless services.
The U.S. Army will abandon the four-acre site housing the Truman Olson Army
Reserve Center at 1402 S. Park St. in 2011. Federal regulations require the
property to be turned over to the city's Community Development Authority and
that first consideration for redevelopment be given to services for the
homeless...
84 Lumber To Open Mcfarland Store One of the largest suppliers of building materials and services to professional contractors in the country will open a store next week in McFarland. Pennsylvania-based 84 Lumber will open a 50,650-square-foot store on Tuesday on a 17-acre site at 4412 Terminal Drive. The store, managed by Larry Nickoli, employs 10 people. The store is the second in Wisconsin for 84 Lumber, which also operates a store in Wrightstown, south of Green Bay. Nationwide, 84 Lumber has more than 400 stores... Need a Speaker
Ken Harwood
is available to speak to your group on a variety of Economic Development
topics. He is a strong advocate for planned development in the Greater
Madison Area. He may be reached at
Editor@WisconsinDevelopmentNews.com Or (608) 334-2174. He also
juggles...
Iceport developers file claim against city, mayor June 05, 2008 - Iceport developers file claim against city, mayor. As the Cudahy Plan Commission prepares to review a modified plan for the proposed Cudahy Station project, the owners of the site - once proposed for the failed Iceport development - are laying the groundwork for a potential lawsuit... Mayor touts plans to improve city's image June 05, 2008 - Mayor touts plans to improve city's image. Economic development, City Hall efficiency, property upkeep top his priorities. Improving Cudahy's image is one of Mayor Ryan McCue's top priorities... What will Janesville do with the plant? June 05, 2008 - What will Janesville do with the plant?. Analysts say it won't be used to make cars. It's unlikely that another automaker will take over the General Motors factory in Janesville when it shuts down sometime in the next two years, industry analysts said Wednesday... Change to condos does the trick June 05, 2008 - Change to condos does the trick. Canterbury Court will be condominiums... June 04, 2008 - Wal-Mart store wins approval. Supercenter will come to Muskego despite protests. Plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the northern end of the city will move forward after the city's Plan Commission approved the contentious project Tuesday night... Design, build communities more intelligently June 01, 2008 - Design, build communities more intelligently. Soaring gas prices have revealed an inconvenient truth about the communities we've been building around greater Milwaukee: They're designed perfectly for the cheap oil of years past...
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